AMA With Phillipe Bednarek & BitMart Exchange — Wednesday 21st of October 2020.
In this GoldFinX AMA hosted by BitMart Exchange, Philippe Bednarek talks about his background and introduces the GoldFinX project while answering a mix of questions from the BitMart team and their community.
Here is a full recap.
Introduction
Philippe co-founded Atlas Group of Companies (AGC) with his business partner, Jean-Michel Alfieri, 25 years ago.
AGC is a private equity firm that invests in businesses at different stages of their growth. In the last decade, Philippe has developed and funded gold mining projects within South America, Eastern Europe, and Africa. Philippe’s vast experience includes 20 years of trading gold as well as 15 years of sourcing gold in 3 different continents.
Welcome, Philippe. If you would be so kind as to introduce yourself and provide our community with some background about you, the team, and the GoldFinX project? — BitMart
First of all, thanks to the Bitmart team for hosting this AMA, and welcome to all of you who have never heard about us, as well to those of you who have been following us for a while now! As you already know, I’m the CEO of GoldFinX, a project that began in 2017.
Since the essence of GoldFinx revolves around its real-life business model, the preparation over the last few years has been meticulous in making sure all the pieces were put together correctly.
As it was mentioned, I’m also the founder of Atlas Group of Companies, the parent company of GoldFinX. AGC started way back in 1995 and has launched many successful companies and joint ventures, especially in the technology world.
The team running GoldFinX today can be considered the best of all the people I’ve ever worked with, and this world-class team is committed to make GoldFinX a resounding success.
— Philippe Bednarek
Defi and gold-backed crypto assets are contentious topics in the cryptocurrency and blockchain sphere. What is GoldFinx bringing to the table with their own concept that sets you apart from similar offerings? — BitMart
I would say that these two terms have been overhyped in the industry. It seems that some people want to be part of the “next” phenomena and evaluate projects for all the wrong reasons.
GoldFinX is implementing a solution to a real-life problem that affects us all, whether directly or indirectly. It’s as simple as that. Our coin, the GiX, is more of a gold-protected coin. This is based on a fundraising model pioneered by GoldFinX. It ensures investors benefit from holding a coin protected by a continually growing asset reserve that steadily appreciates — with projected revenues of over €15 billion over the next decade.
— Philippe Bednarek
In your whitepaper, you introduce your ‘Fairtrade Crypto-finance model.’ Could you go into some further detail about this and what it means? — BitMart
GoldFinX has far-reaching objectives and goals. This is a socially responsible project striving to create the ultimate “win-win” scenario for everyone involved, from the artisanal gold miner to the GiX coin holder.
First, we bring these mines state-of-the-art equipment to make them unbelievably more efficient, and in turn, we receive a fair share of all future production until the end of the mine’s life cycle.
Let’s take a real case: Our first mine in Ivory Coast was producing 1 kg of Gold per month before our involvement. With the new equipment, we financed it and now produces 10 Kg per month (600 k USD when the cost of the equipment is 1.8 million). So the investment is recouped in 3 months, and then we receive 20% of all future production. As you can see, this is a very profitable model and fair for both parties.
What do we do with this gold? The precious metal received by GoldFinX is accrued and stored indefinitely in the vaults of specialized institutions, thus ensuring the secure backing of the GiX coin.
I don’t want to get into too much detail on a forum like this, as it might be too long to effectively cover all the nuance. I would suggest that the audience check out our whitepaper on the website for more detail.
— Philippe Bednarek
What is GoldFinX’s ‘WHY?’. Can you explain the underlying motive and ambitions, especially relating to the social side of the project? — BitMart
Great question! First let me tell you that my team and I have two passions: Gold and Technology!
Before getting involved with GoldFinX, a significant portion of the team had diligently worked within artisanal gold mining finance for at least a decade, and it was a source of immense frustration.
Traditional investors and lenders didn’t want to get involved in this activity. And without adequate financing, artisanal miners have no hope of ever escaping their impoverished and highly dangerous working conditions. Furthermore, they are relegated to using toxic chemicals like Mercury and Arsenic. Not only is this dangerous for every miner involved in the process, but it is also lethal for the community members and the environment.
This is almost unbelievable: The United Nations has estimated that 40% of the world’s mercury contamination comes from this artisanal activity.
— Philippe Bednarek
Who are your main competitors, and how do you intend to compete with them for the lion’s share in the related crypto and traditional markets you cater to? — BitMart
One of the biggest things we have going for us is that it isn’t a copycat project. It is incredibly unique in the crypto space, which automatically eliminates having any direct competition. But no project exists in a bubble so our biggest competitor, and most significant challenge, are the super-hyped projects that get the lion’s share of media attention in the industry.
Some people seem to be content with throwing their money at crypto projects that look and sound like the latest flavour of the month. But we will continue to advocate that long-term thinking has to be part of the equation.
— Philippe Bednarek
Indeed! Long term thinking is key. So how does GoldFinX prevent illegal activities in the mines it finances? — BitMart
Interesting question because “illegal Gold” is a growing concern internationally.
First: GoldFinX built TrueOrigination, a supply chain management system supported by Blockchain Technology to document and ensure the source integrity of the gold extracted
Second: Using security technology, GoldFinX has a decent overview of each site and has an appropriate feed of telemetric value to remotely monitor from an operation control centre
The sites are equipped with sensors monitoring the following: the flow of slurry-soil treated, working hours, GPS location and movement, magnetic resistance for gold estimating and other telemetric data, and video and still images of the sites taken by drones. You see Gold and Technology.
Third: GoldFinX has ground personnel for audits, security, and management support. They are responsible for capturing, securing, and shipping to the refinery, 100% of the gold extracted and pulled from the machinery.
— Philippe Bednarek
Can you tell me how the mines are selected? — BitMart
Very frequently asked question! This is part of the project’s “secret sauce,” and one that is not easily replicated by others who attempt to enter into this space.
What I can say is that the GoldFinX Mining Selection Committee (MSC) is composed of geologists, mining industry experts, and executives of the company.
It selects from projects and operations of submitted or invited mines. It challenges the business plan, recommends any optimization of the technology (extraction and treatment.) Prioritizes the projects by the quantity of the gold reserve, easiness to extract, legal and political stability, and other criteria. It then submits its recommendation to the Board for final approval.
— Philippe Bednarek
How do you involve the community with the project, where can people learn more about GoldFinx or get involved? Are you also doing anything unique to garner mass adoption? — Bitmart
Well, we have put out a massive amount of information and content on social media throughout the last few years, we fired up our efforts to educate and teach the general public in 2020 with increased media exposure, we also send out a monthly newsletter to all our subscriber base with all the latest news.
Our latest initiative is our Ambassador Program — https://goldfinx.com/ambassador
This expands the GoldFinX message quickly.
— Philippe Bednarek
What are the biggest milestones you have accomplished since launching, anything that you would like to share with the community? — BitMart
Without a doubt, the most satisfying one was the first gold mine we partnered with in the Ivory Coast, at the beginning of 2020. Not only did it act as an important proof of concept, but it occurred with impeccable timing as the Covid pandemic hit the world hard a few months later.
With all travel restricted, and the due diligence on mines in other parts of the world coming to a halt, we were able to concentrate on expanding within the Ivory Coast as we gained the confidence of local communities and the government.
— Philippe Bednarek
Final question! Can you tell us about your goals for the future, and what this BitMart listing means for GoldFinX within those plans? — BitMart
I am glad you ask! Working with Bitmart has been a wonderful experience!
Their professional team has provided us with lots of guidance. They have made the listing of GiX a very simple process.
We fully expect this Bitmart listing to spearhead us into the consciousness of the crypto industry and be an important part of spreading this important social message.
As far as our future goals are concerned, they are simple: to expand gold mining projects in South America, North America, and other countries in Africa, accumulating Gold as a protective asset and see the GiX coin value reflecting this growth!
— Philippe Bednarek
Community Questions
Question One. — How do you attract investors to be interested in your project? Because some investors only focus on short-term prices rather than long term?
That’s right, the crypto sphere is used to fast profits, but you would be surprised by how many people are attracted by the social and environmental impact of our project.
— Philippe Bednarek
Question Two. — Can you list 1–3 killer features of Your Project that makes it ahead of its competitors? What is the competitive advantage your platform has that you feel most confident about?
Simply saying: we offer a coin with a purpose, we offer a coin protected by an asset, we offer a coin with an ever-growing underlying asset.
— Philippe Bednarek
Question Three. — What is the most ambitious goal of the project? I would appreciate it if you could share with us any upcoming updates? What should the community look for?
We are talking to the most prestigious NGOs and United Nations agencies, and we look forward to endorsements that will surely be game-changers.
— Philippe Bednarek
Question Four. — Do you plan to build partnerships with local cryptocurrency developers and local projects in each country to make the use of the token more global?
Part of the plan is to introduce the use of our coin within the community of miners which represents 200 million people as a means of exchange.
— Philippe Bednarek
Question Five. — What is the GoldFinX used for? What gives it value? Why is it necessary, and why should one invest in it?
There is a community of 200m people that nobody cares about because they don’t represent any value to the traditional financing world. Cryptofinance is the solution. We are not running a charity, but we strongly believe in our motto “ Do Good, Receive Good” !!
— Philippe Bednarek
To conclude, GoldFinx & BitMart wish to thank everyone from the community for taking the time to join us, also for providing so many great questions. We congratulate all the winners once again and hope to see you at the next one!
Please find a link to the Whitepaper here, and other social links below: https://goldfinx.com/documents/GoldFinX_whitepaper_V3.1.pdf?u=6523456
Twitter: https://twitter.com/goldfinx
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/goldfinx/
Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/GoldFinX/
LinkedIn: https://sg.linkedin.com/company/goldfinx
